Early returns show Putin has nearly 88% of the vote in Russia election

Russian President Vladimir Putin (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to extend his near quarter of a century of rule for six more years as early returns announced after polls closed in Russia showed he had nearly 88% of the vote with 24% of the precincts counted, according to Russia’s Central Election Commission.

The election took place after a relentless crackdown on dissent — and amid attacks within Russia by Ukrainian missiles and drones, which have killed several people.

Polling happened in a tightly controlled environment where Mr Putin faced competition from only three token rivals and any public criticism of him or his war in Ukraine is stifled.

Mr Putin’s fiercest political foe, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison last month, and other critics are either in jail or in exile. Beyond the fact that voters have virtually no choice, independent monitoring of the election was extremely limited.

The OVD-Info group that monitors political arrests said 80 people were arrested in 20 cities across Russia on Sunday.